Ferry or Bus and other Bermuda Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: All you ever wanted to know about transportation on Bermuda is on the website. You can use:

Bicycles,
Mopeds,
Horse Drawn Carriages,
Taxis,
Buses/minibuses,
Ferries.

NO rental cars are available in Bermuda.

On our initial visit we used buses as I thought a Moped was too dangerous for a pregnant woman and the Navy wouldn't let Bob get one either - they ALSO thought mopeds too dangerous. (To many sailors were coming back with road rash, broken bones or worse)

The 2nd time I thought I'd like to rent a moped -even brought steel toed boots. But when Bob looked at the buses (all of which seemed to have windshield damage), he chickened out. Plus they are VERY expensive to rent, and gasoline to run them was $5.00 a gallon in 2003.

The 3rd time, we stuck to the buses and ferries. The mini-van we took to Fort St. Catherine isn't included in the regular bus pass.

The most frugal deal in Bermuda is the bus pass. You can buy this at the visitor's center either in St. George or Hamilton. The current (2005) rates (which also include the ferries) for an adult are:

Adult Transportation Pass (All Zones) 1-Day $12.00, 3-Day $28.00, 4-Day $35.00, 7-Day $45.00

The Visitor's Center takes only cash - no credit cards.

All Bermuda bus stops are marked by poles painted - like the buses - in pink and blue. If the pole by the bus stop is PINK, the bus will be traveling towards the city of Hamilton. If the pole is BLUE, the bus will be traveling away from Hamilton. Since they drive on the left in Bermuda, unless you pay attention to this you may wait on the wrong side.

Used a taxi to and from the airport because the bus will not take passengers that have luggage or baby strollers. The 2003 current rate from the airport to Hamilton is $18.48 plus 25 cents a bag. that you put in the boot (trunk)

We also walked quite a bit. That's free.

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Phone: (441) 292-3851
Website: http://www.bermuda-online.org/getround.htm

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bicycle
Getting TO/AROUND: Early days Bermuda there was NO motor transportation (instead of the 2,506 motor vehicles per square mile on the roads now, one of the highest in traffic density anywhere). Either you walked, had a horse carriage, or between 1931 and 1948, you took the train. Most of the railbed of the train has been made into a hiking/biking trail. Here, no motor or electric vehicles of any kind are allowed (and this is ENFORCED) although you can walk or jog or take a rented pedal cycle and a camera for a journey back in time. It is neither level nor paved, is uneven in places, has steps, sometimes stops abruptly and only able walkers can more safely or nimbly negotiate streets or roads crossing or running from the trail, often without sidewalks.

Get a map and guide from the Visitor's Service Bureau in either Hamilton or St. George.

Warning: In the humidity, heat and risk of sunburn from May to October, it is not recommended that you cycle the Trail then unless you are used to such conditions and carry plenty of bottled water as no part of The Trail has a water station. If you rent a cycle anyway, instead of walking, you will need to rent first, then hit The Trail, then cycle back to where you rented it to return it, as no rental service will come to collect you.

Section 1 is nearly 2 miles long, it stretches east from the Somerset Bus Terminal (original Railway terminal) to Somerset Bridge where Section 2 begins. Two of the photos are of this section.

The greater part of section 3 is in Southampton Parish.

The Paget Parish portion in section 4 goes past prime agricultural areas.

Section 5 is mostly in Devonshire Parish, with the Smith's Parish portion is only just over a mile long.

Section 6 the Hamilton Parish portion is especially interesting. It starts at the other side of Flatts Inlet and includes the Railway Museum.

You have to go to St. George's Parish to do Section 7 as you can't cross the bridge (pictured - originally built for the railroad). The trail ends in the town of St. George.

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Phone: (441) 236-4201
Website: http://www.bermuda-online.org/railway.htm

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Motorcycle
Getting TO/AROUND: Non-residents are not allowed to own, rent, or drive four-wheeled vehicles. This is partly because of the narrow roads, which have small or nonexistent shoulders and hundreds of blind curves. Scooters (mopeds/motorcycles) can be dangerous after dark or when the roads are wet. Visitors on mopeds have a high accident rate, with at least some of the problems related to driving on the left.

When Bob's ship was in port here in 1963, the ship personnel were forbidden to rent them because too many of them came back to the ship injured (or didn't come back).

No drivers license is needed for motor scooter rental but children under the age of 16 are not permitted to drive. Helmets are required. Driving is on the left. The speed limit in Hamilton is 25 kph (15 mph); 35 kph (21 mph) on the rest of the island.

"Be forewarned that local scooter drivers tend to abuse the speed limit more often than auto drivers and they will often pass on the left or right with no warning."

Mopeds have larger wheels than scooters and look more like motorcycles.

From Frommers:
Mopeds for one rider rent for $53 for the first day, $83 for 2 days, $106 for 3 days, and $168 for 7 days. Scooters for two riders cost $62 to $81 for 1 day. You must pay with a major credit card; it serves as a deposit in case of damage or theft. You must also purchase a one-time insurance policy for $18. The insurance is valid for the length of the rental.

You can rent mopeds and scooters at Wheels (tel. 441/292-2245), at Concord Cycle Shop, at The Fairmont Southampton Princess (tel. 441/238-3336) and at Oleander Cycles Ltd., Valley Road, P.O. Box 114, Paget Parish (tel. 441/236-5235). All locations are open daily from 8:30am to 5:30pm. Rentals require a $20 deposit.

Eve's Cycle Livery, 114 Middle Rd., Paget Parish (tel. 441/236-6247), rents a variety of scooters; they cost $42 to $60 for the first day, and $181 to $250 for 7 days, depending on the model, with successively lower prices for each additional day.

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Website: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/0091020015.html

'Mode': TO
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: Two ways to get to Bermuda - plane and boat. Both times I went to Bermuda by plane. I'd love to go on our boat sometime, but I doubt it will happen. The third time we went by cruise ship which was a compromise and was cheaper than flying in and staying in a hotel.

The photo below shows the kind of plane that was going to Bermuda in 1963. It has propellers on it. There is a big fire extinguisher next to the building and the man in uniform is wearing Bermuda shorts.

Currently, airlines that fly to Bermuda are:
American Airlines www.aa.com
Air Canada www.aircanada.com
Continental www.continental.com
Delta www.deltaairlines.com
British Airways www.britishairways.com
US Air www.usair.com

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Phone: 441-293-2470 (receptionist)
Website: http://www.bermudaairport.com/

'Mode': TO
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: The photo below was taken from my hotel in 1963. My husband's visit was via the US Navy's aircraft carrier 'cruise ship' but I flew in.

The Bermuda cruise ship page says:
"In St. George from April to early November each year, cruise ships up to medium size dock in the town in two places. Both are within easy walking distance of attractions for all who are not severely disabled ... The places are Ordnance Island, once a British Army military depot and wharf, then a US anti-submarine base during World War 2 or Penno's Wharf... It has frequent buses and ferries going to and from Hamilton and further west to the Royal Naval Dockyard and an occasional ferry going west"

When we were there in 1995 we saw ships come into Hamilton. Additional web page information:

"The City of Hamilton has 2 cruise ship berths, the # 1 Passenger Terminal; and # 5 & 6 Passenger Terminal. It also has buses going east and west and a ferry service going mostly west. . . The Royal Naval Dockyard in Sandys Parish has an extra-long berth in the west end of Bermuda at King's Wharf with frequent buses and ferries going east. "

Current companies with a stop in Bermuda -the big three:
Carnival Cruise Lines
Radisson Seven Seas Cruises
Renaissance Cruises
and:
American Eagle - from Maine.
American Way Cruise Vacations
Columbia & Snake River Sternwheeler
Costa Cruises
Crown Cruises
Cruises on Freighters
Cruise West
Delta Queen Coastal Voyages
Delta Queen Steamboat Company
Deilmann Cruises
Europe River Cruises
Golden Sun Cruises
Holland America Line
Jeremiah O'Brien Liberty Chip Cruises - from SF.
John W. Brown Liberty Ship Cruises - from Baltimore.
Maris Freighter Cruises
Norwegian Coastal Voyage
Orient Lines
Page & Moy Cruises
Regal China Cruises
Rivership Cruises
Silverseas Cruises
Star Clippers
Uniworld European River Cruises
Viking European River Cruises
Viking Star Cruises
Windjammer Cruise Lines
Windstar Cruises
World Explorer Cruises

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Website: http://www.bermuda-online.org/cruises.htm

'Mode': TO
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: "On it's own bottom" is the way one refers to a boat that is sailed to a location rather than being trailered, trucked or shipped.

That's one reason that the Swiss America's Cup winner can't have the next contest in Switzerland. There are lakes that are big enough. But the boats have to be able to get there on their own bottom - they have to be sailed and not shipped.

In any case, we'd love to come to Bermuda on our own boat. It would take about 3 weeks depending on the weather. I'm reluctant to do it without additional crew to stand watch, and Bob doesn't want extra people on board, so it looks like we won't do it.

You can tell that this is a cruising sailboat by the solar panels, the life raft (the pod on the deck) and last but not least - the laundry drying.

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